So, we are supposed to take possession today, but in fact probably can't due to some bank perfidy. It seems like it's not a big deal (the sellers' loan was sold two weeks ago, and now the new bank can't find it to have it paid off), but you never know.

Rats! We were going to eat lunch there, and start planning which demolition project to do first. Plus, I want to figure out what to start planting, and if it needs a new fence, and where to put the gate to make the back more private.

Humph.

What else is new --

It isn't snowing here. It never snows here. I do love snow.

N has inherited my old jacket. She's somewhat suspicious of it -- it's a baggy old hunting jacket that I stole from a friend of mine my sophomore year in college. It's olive green, and made of really tightly woven wool, so it's very warm without being very bulky. I wore it for many years as my primary winter coat, with an aran cardigan underneath it. It was really warm. She feels that it's too big. That's the way things were in those days! But she admits that it's warm.

It's kind of fun having K's brother around. He's got two little girls -- 6 and 4, I think, or possibly 7 and 5. Seeing him reminds me of when our kids where that small, and of how they've really become so independent and grown up -- N comes and goes on the train. I've been taking her and her uncle N to the train station every morning at 7. It feels very sophisticated and urban. It helps that N seems to be connecting finally with her school work. It feels like a hive of activity around our house -- M concocting a new flag for the US featuring oil stains and dollar bills, then writing a letter to our Representative about drilling in ANWR; N out the night before last studying for chemistry at the local pizza parlor, then last night holed up with E studying for a math test -- Uncle N coming and going. It feels very wintry and productive.

It's always nice having people visit, in fact, especially people like Uncle N who come and go and you don't have to worry about them. That's another thing we miss living here, I think -- we don't have people like him living near by -- on the other hand, living here means he comes once a year to visit. But it may be a nice thing about living in the new house -- we'll be closer to lots of people, and perhaps there will be more spontaneous visiting. That would be very nice.

I guess somehow -- my old jacket, studiousness, Uncle N sleeping in the living room, wintriness, even the death of John Lennon -- I am reminded of college, which was in many ways a great time of life. Here's hoping that the new house will be full of hubbub and visiting, allowing for rest and retreat as well.

A big-leaf maple, a buckeye and a toyon. Those are the trees I want to plant right away.